For a while I've been on and off working on a campaign book for The Known World. There are going to be all kinds of sections on races, nations, feats, traits, flaws, equipment, plot hooks, and so on. One of the sections is going to be on NPCs. Not only will this section give background information on the characters, it will be where I include actual rules based information and stats like class and hit points and ability score and will be where I put versions of NPCs like Cenn, Traith Harris, A'lst, Nakmander and such. It will also be where I put my versions of PCs and former PCs like John Johnson, Derf, and Kethranmeer. So, here is Kethranmeer one last time.
The creature known as Kethranmeer was one of the twelve original Soulless created by the artisans of The Fallen Empire of Man and the Okwighta Aleknostas. Trained and raised for a lifetime of battle by Omne-4, for forty years he served the nation of undead as a blood-slick metal warrior, reaching a moderately high rank and gaining control over a small force of his kind. He and his unit were sent on a mission to the country of Kusseth to investigate underground ruins and he was wounded beyond repair and left to rust and go mad from his isolation. He was discovered by a creature named A'lst that found his sorcerous nature repugnant but his machine nature intriguing, A'lst altered Spineplate and negated the sorcerous energies of his creation. This stripped Spineplate of his allegiance to the Fallen Empire and his somewhat homicidal nature and replaced his psyche with that of an unthinking metal beast. Over time A'lst grew affectionate towards his metal hound and taught him the language of his people (Thoeleknair) and gave him a name befitting his developing personality (Kethranmeer, meaning warrior of steel mind and steel flesh). A'lst had ties to the bardic colleges and Kethranmeer was inducted into the colleges as a warrior and during one of his missions with the bards he was caught by the wardens of Kusseth. Because his kind were thought to be sorcerous constructs of war and due to his clearly deadly nature he was to be destroyed, but A'lst had connections to a senior warden of some repute in Kusseth (Traith Harris of the 37th). The warden vouched for the construct and he was instead imprisoned in the Beltan prison camp where he was modified by smiths and miners to become an ideal and untiring mining device. Over the next twenty years he succumbed to the rigors of isolation and abuse and devolved once more into the animalistic state A'lst's interventions had first left him in. At the end of that twenty years he was able to escape from Beltan by being involved in a prison break masterminded by Smiling Jack and Laram of Volungshemle. He met up with a collection of malcontents that were later dubbed The Robust Five (More or Less) and became fast friends with a Fell Human Descendant called D'alton Braun.
During their adventures, the bond of friendship between Kethranmeer and D'alton grew to one of brotherhood, eventually growing as strong as the Soulless' flesh when the two creatures bought their freedom from the rebel leader Nakmander. Despite his freedom, and his pressing need to watch over his sons, Kethranmeer stayed with The Robust Five out of loyalty to D'alton. Remaining in Hell was not as detrimental to the cause of Kethranmeer's rebellion as it might seem. Once his sons were free of the sorcery of The Fallen Empire of Man, Kethranmeer dispatched them to the east and traversing The length of The Known World via steam engine made the task less time consuming than it might otherwise be. When Kethranmeer's direct input was needed, messenger night fowls could be sent with great reliability to have an answer from him in a relatively timely fashion. When matters at hand demanded quick action, it fell to Mokethneer to determine the fate of the Soulless rebellion.
Despite the insistent demands of his sons, that now called themselves Rankethlek, Kethranmeer could not leave his brother D'alton and come to Steeltown with them. He felt that if he left D'alton and The Robust Five (More Or Less), they would surely fall in battle, or be betrayed by the unpredictable machinations of Derf. So he stayed in Hell and worked for Nakmander and his rebels in order to remain close to his brother of flesh and their friends. In that time, they opposed reavers and wardens and bards, and conquered all foes that they were directed against. Kethranmeer was a warrior, and testing his hammer against these foes thrilled him, though it kept him from his sons and his true calling. His actions in Hell did allow him to learn of the Fremwightan and their leader Konaleknostas, who Kethranmeer remembered from his time in The Fallen Empire of Man. This knowledge allowed Kethranmeer's son Mokethneer to later seek out and forge an alliance with the Fremwightan.
When Cenn the Reaver died, it was a great blow to Kusseth and its control of Hell and Kethranmeer realized that the rebellion of Hell was far closer to freeing itself than he had thought. He sent messenger night fowls to his sons and A'lst, telling them that his work was almost done and that he would soon rejoin them. His sons were to journey west and meet him in Kusseth, there they would recover A'lst and he would journey with them to Steeltown where they could finally come together as a family and fight for the freedom of their race. Hopefully with the aid of D'alton Braun, and perhaps the rest of The Robust Five (More Or Less).
It was not to be though. For as the rebllion moved ahead, it dawned on Kethranmeer and his ally Xein, that Nakmander and his sorcerers intended to destroy Kusseth City. Kethranmeer realized then that his entire family, save for D'alton, was at risk of meeting their death in the destruction that Nakmander desired to bring against Kusseth. Furious, Kethranmeer met Nakmander on the field of battle at the ritual site and sought first to halt his actions, and then to murder the sorcerers before they could complete their task when Nakmander called A'lst and Traith martyrs for the cause of Nakmander's rebellion.
The air at the ritual site hummed with sorcerous energy as Xein and Kethranmeer made to murder the sorcerers, but Nakmander did not allow it and levelled spell after spell at the Soulless. Eventually, Kethranmeer's rusted body could not withstand the destructive energies of Nakmander's sorcery, and he fell, he chest a ruin of slag and huge gaping holes from destructive beams of sorcery. The warrior fell, but fell knowing that his allies would stand against Nakmander in his stead. When the battle ended and Nakmander disappeared, The Robust Five headed to Kusseth City in hopes of finding A'lst, but he was gone. So they returned to the Braun mansion and laid Kethranmeer's battered body to rest in his part of the mansion.
Kethranmeer Level 15
Male Rankethlek Fighter 15
Init: +5; Senses: None; Perception +12
Languages: Thoeleknair, Citytongue, Guttertongue
AC 20, touch 11, flat-footed 19; (+8 armor, +1 Dex, +1 natural)
CMD 32
HP 179 (15 HD)
Fort +13, Ref +6, Will +10
Speed 30 ft. (6 squares)
Melee Blackstone Hammer +28/+25/+20 (1d10+18/19-20x3) or
Melee Power Attack w/Blackstone Hammer +25/+20/+15 (1d10+27/19-20x3)
Ranged 40% Wolf-Iron Throwing Hammer +21 (1d4+11/20x2)
Base Attack +15, CMB +21
Abilities Str 22, Dex 13, Con 18, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 12
SQ DR 2/-, Bravery +4, Armor Training 4, Weapon Training (hammers, axes, heavy swords), Fleshless, Lifeless, Made of Metal, Undying, Lack of Nourishment
Favored Class Fighter (+10 hit points, +5 skill points)
Traits: Armor Expert (Basic), Wolf-Iron Son (Racial), Will of Iron (Cultural)
Flaws Rusty
Feats Flesh of Wolf Iron, Iron Will, Weapon Focus (Maul), Weapon Specialization (Maul), Ironhide, Improved Initiative, Improved Iron Will, Power Attack, Cleave, Greater Weapon Focus (Maul), Greater Weapon Specialization (Maul), Great Cleave, Toughness, Leadership, Improved Critical, Improved Bull Rush, Skill Focus (Craft Electrical)
Skills Climb +10, Craft (Armorsmithing) +8, Craft (Electrical) +25, Diplomacy +6, Intimidate +19, Perception +12
Possessions Blackstone hammer (+2/+2, grants +4 bonus to saving throws vs. sorcery, halves bonuses to AC that are provided by sorcery, grants SR 18 ), 40% Wolf-Iron throwing hammer (+2/+2), ash grease (grants Soulless and Rankethlek +8 to Stealth checks in dark conditions)
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